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Ruby annotations

Plan: Pro.

Ruby annotations are the small phonetic guides printed alongside CJK characters — furigana over kanji in Japanese, pinyin or bopomofo beside hanzi in Chinese, and similar phonetic hints in Korean classical text.

Scribe supports ruby for all three writing systems and renders it correctly in vertical and horizontal layouts, and in export formats that support ruby such as image, PDF, and EPUB. Word (.docx) export keeps the base text, but it does not output native Word ruby annotations.

Adding ruby​

Ruby is a WYSIWYG annotation, not a markup syntax:

  1. Select the base text you want to annotate.
  2. Choose Ruby annotation from the editor toolbar.
  3. Type the reading and confirm. The reading appears above (or, in vertical layout, beside) the base text right away.

To change a reading later, click the annotated text and choose Edit Ruby. Examples of typical readings:

  • Japanese furigana — base 漢字, reading かんじ
  • Chinese pinyin — base 你好, reading nǐ hǎo
  • Bopomofo — base 中文, reading ㄓㄨㄥㄨㄣˊ

Display rules​

  • In vertical layout, ruby renders to the right of the base characters.
  • In horizontal layout, ruby renders above the base characters.
  • Sizing and alignment follow standard ruby typesetting automatically; there is nothing to configure.

Export support​

ExportRuby support
Image (PNG / JPEG)Full — rendered into the image.
PDF (any profile)Full — rendered into the PDF text layer.
EPUB 3Full — compatible readers can display the annotation.
Word (.docx)Base text only; the annotation is not included.

Without Pro, the base text remains available while Ruby annotations are not shown or exported. The annotations are not deleted and become available again when Pro is restored.

Tips​

  • Use ruby sparingly in adult fiction; over-annotated text looks like a children's primer. Reserve it for rare characters, proper nouns at first appearance, and stylistic effects.
  • For a glossary-style appendix, consider a regular footnote instead of ruby — ruby works best when it stays unobtrusive inside the body text.